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Establishing a National Park is not an easy undertaking. There is red tape to go through and numerous government agencies to go through. Alicia Barber's Local Places, National Spaces: Public Memory, Community Identity, and Landscape at Scotts Bluff National Monument gives insight to every aspect of trying to establish a National Monument.
Scotts Bluff was a meeting point for pioneers traversing the Oregon Trail. It was used as a land marker to meet and rest before continuing the long journey to Oregon. Local residents had no memory of Scotts Bluff because the local towns were founded after the time of the Oregon Trail. The community was quite proud of the Monuments heritage, but they were looking more into what the Monument could bring to the community. This becomes a driving force for the residents. With the explosion of the car in the early 20th century, people could travel far and wide. Scotts Bluff residents wanted to capitalize on this and make the bluff a tourist attraction.

The local community around Scotts Bluff initially took matters into their own hands by constructing picnic areas and a walking trail to the top of the bluff. Robert Sterling Yard became chief of publicity for Scotts Bluff and was able to get the story of the bluff in two different publications. The National Parks Portfolio and Glimpses of Our National Parks were booklets that were provided to members of congress and potential tourists. Leading locals flooded Washington DC with many letters looking for federal funds to help develop the monument.
Slowly funds started to flow into Scotts Bluff for development purposes. A museum was built along with proper foot trails and even a road to the top of the bluff. One thing that spurred the federal government was the fact that the locals were doing their own construction and damaging the landscape. So the government brought in federal landscape architects that helped design eco-friendly amenities
The local residents were determined to have a National Monument. With this determination the story of Scotts Bluff became part of the community's heritage. Scotts Bluff will probably remain a minor monument, but it helps give the local community a lasting identity.

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